William James Gaither (/ˈɡeɪθər/[1]GAY-thər; born March 28, 1936) is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music. He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria; he is also known for performing as part of the Bill Gaither Trio and the Gaither Vocal Band. In the 1990s, his career gained a resurgence (as well as the careers of other southern gospel artists), as popularity grew for the Gaither Homecoming series. In 2023, he released a secular music album with the Gaither Vocal Band entitled Love Songs.
Early life
Bill Gaither was born in Alexandria, Indiana, in 1936 to George William Gaither and Lela Olga Hartwell. He formed his first group, the Bill Gaither Trio (consisting of Bill, his sister Mary Ann (1945–2018),[2] and brother Danny Gaither (1938–2001)), in 1956 while a college student at Anderson College, to which he had transferred after one year at Taylor University. He graduated from Anderson in 1959 with a major in English and a minor in music,[3] after which he worked as an English teacher. He married the former Gloria Sickal in 1962.
He tried for a few years to manage both a music career and his full-time teaching job, but he quit his teaching job in 1967 and began working full-time in the Christian music industry. He recorded his breakthrough song "He Touched Me" in 1964.[5]
Gloria Gaither often writes the lyrics while Bill writes the music, although composing is usually a collaborative project between the two. As of 2005, they had composed 600 songs and by 2012 that number had increased to over 700.[8][6]
Performer
Bill Gaither performing, 2011
After graduating from high school, Gaither took a job in 1955 at Worthington, Ohio's radio station WRFD as a member of the station's gospel quartet.[9] Since Gaither first began singing with the Bill Gaither Trio in the 1950s, he has constantly been performing. The trio originally consisted of Bill, his brother Danny Gaither and his sister Mary Ann Gaither. In about 1964 Bill's wife, Gloria, took the place of Mary Ann. The trio sang traditional gospel songs along with original compositions by the Gaithers that gave them a more contemporary feel.
Gaither has a high bass voice (or low baritone), and often sang while playing piano with the Bill Gaither Trio.
Entrepreneurship and influence
Gaither founded the Gaither Music Company, which includes the functions of a record company, concert booking (Gaither Management Group), television production, copyright management (Gaither Copyright Management), retail store, recording studio (Gaither Studios, formerly Pinebrook Studios) and telemarketing for the Gaither organization. He also ran the Gaither Family Resources retail center.
Also included within the company is Live Bait Productions, an animation company run by Benjy Gaither, one of Bill's three children.[10]
In 1994, Gaither and entrepreneur Leland Boren founded the Brentwood, Tennessee-based Chapel Hill Music Group, which later changed its name to Spring Hill Music Group.[11] It was created as part of the Gaither Music Company to handle in-house productions, including the Gaither Homecoming series.
Gaither has maintained the Gaither Vocal Band with a variety of singers through the years, including Gary McSpadden, Steve Green, Lee Young, Jon Mohr, Larnelle Harris, Michael English, Lemuel Miller, Jim Murray, Mark Lowry, Terry Franklin, Buddy Mullins, Jonathan Pierce, Guy Penrod, David Phelps, Russ Taff, Marshall Hall, Wes Hampton, Adam Crabb, Todd Suttles and Reggie Smith. Penrod, Lowry and Hampton were the members of the Gaither Vocal Band with the longest tenure besides Gaither himself. Penrod was with the group from 1995 to 2008, and Lowry from 1988 to 2001; Hampton has been with the Gaither Vocal Band since 2005. It was announced in January 2009 that Lowry, English and Phelps were rejoining; at the same time the announcement was made that Penrod and Hall were leaving.
Gaither's Homecoming tours, which started in 1991, brought together major stars of the southern gospel and CCM industry, sparking a revival of the genres. The tours have sold more than 1.1million tickets across the world, and have included such notable venues as the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Pollstar listed the tour as selling more tickets in 2004 than Elton John, Fleetwood Mac or Rod Stewart.[12] Lynda Randle, the Isaacs, Russ Taff, the Hoppers, Jessy Dixon and many more have performed on the tours.
(This list excludes books of music and books that are companions to his "Homecoming" series.)
2003: Bill Gaither and Ken Abraham. It's More than Music: Life Lessons on Friends, Faith, and What Matters Most. Anderson, Indiana: Warner Books. (ISBN0-446-53041-7)
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